近距离内射合集

As grocery and gas prices climb, Marina Cortez says this year鈥檚 tax-free weekend cannot come soon enough for her and her five school-aged children.

鈥淚鈥檝e been noticing since last year the prices are going up and up and up,鈥� said Cortez, a single mother who works part-time at McDonald鈥檚, cleans houses and sells homemade desserts.

Since 2019, grocery costs have climbed 33%, while inflation has risen 3.5% since January 2025, according to federal data. For families stretching every dollar, the small tax break feels like a necessity.

Buying school supplies, shoes, clothes and backpacks all on the same day during tax-free weekend, which runs Friday through Sunday and allows businesses to exclude the gross receipts tax, helped her save close to $300 last year, Cortez said.

Along with the small essentials, Cortez said her shopping list this year includes two tablets and headphones that are required for her kids鈥� classes. She is also budgeting for backpacks, which she said can cost roughly $150 each.

鈥淭his is a really good weekend for people who are working for the minimum wage, and also single moms,鈥� Cortez said. 鈥淲e try to do our best, so thank God that we have these specials. We have to take our kids to school, so we need to do this.鈥�

The tax-free weekend helps her cover more than just school supplies. With rent also due, Cortez said the extra breathing room from tax-free weekend stretches into other necessities, including groceries.

That is also true for William Simmons, a single father of two school-age children among his 11. He said taking advantage of available resources is crucial in providing his children with a good lifestyle 鈥� and the tax-free weekend is one way he makes ends meet.

鈥淚鈥檓 one of those individuals who鈥檚 employed, but my assets are limited and my income is constrained,鈥� Simmons said, 鈥渁nd so this tax-free weekend for me is critical.鈥�

Simmons works in retail and customer service, and he has taught his teenage child the numbers behind his paycheck. The two discuss how much comes out of taxes versus how much an employee actually takes home.

鈥淲hether it be food banks or the tax-free weekend, we鈥檙e trying to save and pinch every penny we can,鈥� Simmons said.

But Simmons said he does not want to wait until the busy tax-free weekend to decide what to purchase. Rather than braving the crowds the day of, Simmons window-shops online in the days ahead to have a plan for purchasing the necessities 鈥� socks, underwear, shirts and shoes.

Every small amount Simmons saves helps him buy a few more clothes and feed his family, he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the difference between a family not being able to even eat the next day because we鈥檙e spending that hard-earned money on the clothing,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o any money we could save on the clothing might end up on the food table.鈥�

Tax-free weekend also helps Simmons support his school-aged children in presenting themselves, because a new piece of clothing can make all the difference in confidence 鈥� plus, they can grow out of clothes quickly during prime growing years.

鈥淐hildren are developing their social identities during these school years, and what they wear and how they present themselves is very much tied to their personal and social identity,鈥� Simmons said.

Shannon Dailey, mother of three and year-round server married to an autoworker, said she also looks forward to the tax-free weekend every year. Because she has 12-year-old twin girls, she has to buy double the school supplies, on top of what her 16-year-old son needs for his high school and college classes.

But the math did not work out last year, Dailey said. Cleveland Middle School enforced a clear-bag policy just before January, but she had already bought new backpacks for her twins months earlier at the start of the school year.

When the clear bags Albuquerque Public Schools initially provided broke within days, she wished she had been able to purchase replacements during tax-free weekend instead of paying full price mid-year.

Dailey said her children reuse school supplies each year when they can, but old items often break or run out, so she is grateful for any money she saves during the tax-free weekend.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 seem like much to some people,鈥� Dailey said. 鈥淏ut especially if it鈥檚 three different kids and we gotta get all this stuff every year, it does help.鈥�

Keelin Fisher is a business reporter for the Journal. You can reach her at kfisher@abqjournal.com.